Dodge
by cart00nheart
Summary: BADE PROMPTS - adopt-a-prompt May! Bade play Dodgeball, post TWC. Definite Bade. Some Jandré, Cade, Cabbie and Jori How will the game end for Beck and Jade? Includes some jealous Beck.


This is my story for **BadePrompts - **Adopt-A-Prompt May. My prompt was **Dodgeball. Post TWC.**

"Jade! Jade!" The easily recognisable, loud yelp of the small redhead echoed around the busy changing room, bustling to the brim with girls slipping into their gym shorts and shirts, tying the lases of their sneakers and gym shoes, pulling on sports socks and bunching their lengthy hair up into tight, high ponytails. Jade sighed in frustration, straightening up from her position - leaning over her bag that was perched on the benches that lined the white-washed walls of the vast room. Retrieving a tight fitting round-neck Hollywood Arts T-shirt, Jade pulled it over her head quickly, turning on her heels to face Cat.

"What?" she mumbled, her tone remaining sharp and demanding. It wasn't often that anybody caught Jade West in a good mood, especially not in school, but when sport was involved? She was much more irritable than usual. Jade would much rather be in Sikowitz's classroom, performing some impromptu acting exercise in front of her peers than running around in the school gym. The solitary silver lining to the rain cloud ahead was that Jade could use this hour as a prime opportunity to release her frustration, and take her anger out on plenty of her classmates. She ran her palms across the lower half of her shirt, smoothing it down just as Cat bounded across the room and into eyesight.

"Look!" she squeaked excitedly, her squeals causing Jade to wince, raising her hand up in protest. Cat leaped and twirled around the area of the changing room that surrounded Jade, creating many close encounters as she threatened to collide with the girls were finishing up their changing. This behaviour was next to normal for Cat, meaning that nobody considered this out of the ordinary, and continued to go about their business. Cat giggled excitedly, spinning to a sudden halt, her arms outstretched as she swayed - a side effect of her dizziness. Jade gripped her forearm and yanked her into the corner of the changing room, Cat tumbling over her own feet, pulled safely out of any potential harm she could inflict on herself. The giggling, however, would not cease as Cat squeaked, motioning to the skirt she held in both of her fists.

"What is_ that_?" Jade questioned, throwing herself down onto the benches, the changing rooms beginning to empty, hugging one of her legs to her chest as she impatiently tied her laces, pulling sharply as she produced a knot and then a bow, her dyed curls draping over her shoulders, her fingers working with precision at a rapid pace. Cat started up a small jump as she watched Jade tie her laces.

"It's a skort!" she yelped, picking up the ends and spinning a few times, her bright hair cascading in a colourful whirlwind around her head, muffling her laughs. Jade grumbled in disapproval, finishing her other lace, pulling up her white socks and standing raising her eyebrow as she reached out for Cat, placing a hand on each of her shoulders to steady her. "So...a skirt?" Jade asked, pulling a hair tie from her wrist and forcing her thick tendrils inside the band. Before the words were even out of her mouth, Cat was urgently shaking her head in disapproval. "No, Jade! A Skort! Not a skirt!" she spoke loudly, as if raising her voice would mean that Jade understood. "Ah..." Jade nodded, faking an interest and understanding. "So...what does it do?" she added, unimpressed.

"It's actually a skirt _and _shorts, hence, skort" the bright, friendly voice came from the bench behind Jade, and without even looking, Jade could tell who it belonged to; her eyes rolling in annoyance. Jade placed her hands on either side of her, gripping the wood as she propelled herself 180 degrees, lifting her legs up and over the bench to face Tori Vega.

"_It's actually a skirt and shorts, hence, skort!" _Jade mirrored in her typical mocking of Tori's voice, tilting her head to the side, her face full of sarcasm eyebrows raised in satisfaction as she spoke, a wicked smile flashing against her soft, pink lips, placing one hand on her crossed knees, and the other hand atop of it. Tori's mouth fell open in protest, her arms raising as she looked from Jade to Cat and back again. Cat's expression remained slightly perplexed and full of adoration for her new contraption that twisted around her slight frame. All of a sudden, her attention slipped from the 'skort' and she slid towards Jade, standing behind her.

"But, Tori's right, Jade. That's what it is, it's a skirt, and shorts. My brother bought it for himself, but my mom wouldn't let him wear it. See?" Cat smiled absent mindedly, lifting up the hem of the skirt slightly and carefully, her fingers pinching the material, to reveal a pair of black shorts, a huge smile creeping on to her lips as if she had just remembered the function of her clothing, becoming excited as she reminded herself. "See?" Cat prompted again, when Jade failed to turn around, reaching out to tap her shoulder lightly.

"I know what it is!" Jade snapped, standing abruptly, launching herself from the bench. Cat allowed her head to droop with disappointment, almost resembling a wilting flower. A small yelp burst from her lips, the hood of her bubblegum pink Hollywood Arts hoodie falling over her eyes and encapsulating some of her hair, her fists balled up at her face. Jade stepped over the bench and closer to Tori, who was leaning against the lockers that clung to the back wall. "You playing today, Tori?"Jade asked, smiling a little too sweetly as she asked, hand on hip while narrowing her eyes. Cat peeked out from underneath her hood, glancing around the changing room in confusion.

"Where'd everybody go?" Cat asked, unsure her question was directed at Tori and Jade, or if she was talking to herself. Either way, she began to scour the changing rooms, coming to the realization that they were the last inside, neither of them had noticed everyone else slip away to the gymnasium.

"No...I'm actually not" Tori responded, squaring up to Jade, despite Jade being a little taller, staring up at the girl who stood above her. Tori returned the smile, rebounding from the lockers. "I have a big play coming up, I mean, it's huge, if I get hurt or anything, then-"

"Awh, come on" Jade interrupted, patting Tori's shoulder a little too forcefully. "Take one for the team!" she grinned, ruffling Tori's hair before stepping back and crossing her arms. "It'll be swell!" Jade exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "We.." Jade began, forcing a look of seriousness etched into her ivory features, resisting the urge to laugh. "...need you" she continued, nodding sincerely. "Right, Cat?" Jade called, turning her head over her shoulder to look for the bubbly, excitable creature. Jade's icy, blue piercing eyes fell on the girl - they found her threading some brightly coloured laces through her sports shoes.

"They're... illuminous!" she squealed with excitement, struggling to remember the term to describe her new contraption, noticing Jade looking in the direction of her feet. Jade sighed for the umpteenth time since entering the changing room, as Cat returned to the laces. "Um, Cat...I don't think we're going to play sports in the dark..." Tori began, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, that had escaped her high ponytail, glancing over Jade's shoulder. Cat snapped her head up as if she had been slapped straight around the face.

"Wha-but...but, no one said anything about dark?" Cat gasped in despair, glancing from her laces, to Tori, and then to Jade for some hint of reassurance. Cat quickly grasped the box her laces had arrived in, scanning the instructions for some sort of hidden clue.

"Wait!" Jade span on her heels, facing Tori once again. "_We?_" she questioned, emphasising the word, raising one of her tidy eyebrows.

"...What?" Tori responded, her brow furrowing with confusion, studying Jade's face in her baffled state.

"You said, correct me if I'm wrong, that _we're_ not going to play sports in the dark" Jade spoke matter of factly, raising her index finger and shaking it once.

"No...you're right..." Tori confirmed, flinching as Jade's fingernail almost collided with her eye. A frustrated squeak sounded from Cat as she fumbled with the box.

"That means...you're going to play?" Jade smirked, walking backwards, hands reaching up to her hair to tighten her ponytail, smiling a bright smile that was rarely seen. Tori was confused as to whether this smile was genuine - or whether it was completely forced and sarcastic, Jade only wanting her to play so she could pelt her with whatever type of ball the sport required. "Yes, okay, fine, I'll play" Tori said hurriedly, brushing past Jade to reach to dump her bag down on the bench; reaching in to retrieve her change of clothes. Jade nodded in approval as Tori confirmed she would be playing, feeling a sense of relief. Since Jade and Beck broke up, Jade had found she had almost developed a...friendship, with Tori. Having Tori around made Jade feel a little more confidence, and confidence was vital whenever she knew she was going to be around Beck.

"Jade" Cat spoke quickly, using her hands to help herself up from the floor, brushing down her skort and hoodie, her ponytail bouncing as she steadied herself. "Maybe we should go, before they start the game without us!" she persisted, rushing to stand beside Jade, running past Tori who was in the middle of pulling a long pair of track pants from her bag. Jade twisted around to face Cat and Tori a little while after she heard Cat's words, feeling the redheads presence beside her. As Cat stood beside Jade, it was as if she had only just remembered Tori was even here. "Oh! Unless Tori wants us to wait for her, of course!" Cat smiled brightly, turning to Jade who was removing her eyebrow piercing, knowing that the coach would order her to take it out anyway, and she didn't exactly want a ball colliding with that, it would cause her pain, and not the good kind. It was bad enough that one time Beck got his hair caught in it.

"I'm sure Tori will be fine" Jade nodded as Tori turned around, confirming Jade's assumptions with a brief nod. "Yeah, I'll be fine" Tori added, her words muffled as she pulled a baggy sweatshirt over her head, tying the ends in a low knot just above her belly button. "I'll catch up with you guys, go on" Tori gestured towards the door, turning back to her bag, her hands moving frantically searching for her gym shoes. Jade led the way, exciting the changing rooms, weaving her way through the benches as Cat followed excitedly. "Bye, Tori!" Cat called, followed by a small giggle, rushing ahead of Jade and opening the door. "Yeah, see you later, Tori" Jade called, her voice full of amusement, and sounding slightly mocking again. "I don't talk like that!" Tori yelled, straightening up from her back and looking towards the door, just in time to watch it close after Jade.

"You were being nice to her" Cat nodded, almost in approval, as they stepped out of the changing rooms, pulling at the toggles on her hood, finding amusement in tugging each one repetitively. Jade turned her head, her eyes landing sharply on Cat. "I did no such thing!" Jade spoke, her ponytail swishing from side to side as they began their short walk to the school gym, where Jade knew everybody else would already be waiting for them. Or maybe they had already started. With any luck, they might not have noticed the absence of the three girls, and they could just go back to the changing rooms and skip the class all together - Jade had her good scissors tucked away in her bag back in the room - not that she didn't think she could risk taking scissors out into the gym while playing dodgeball, because she knew she could get away with it, she just didn't want them to be put in any potential harm.

They rounded a corner, the gymnasium in sight, the small windows placed high up on the doors; revealing nothing of the inside. "If you say so" Cat giggled, keeping her eyes on the floor, as if walking in a straight line required intense concentration, placing one foot in front of the other with great care, keeping her whole body steady. "Oh, I say so" Jade responded, nudging Cat playfully with her elbow, just as they approached the doors, though as soon as Jade made contact with the girl beside her, she froze instantly. Jade stopped in her tracks, looking at Cat who stood rooted to the spot, nibbling on her lip nervously. Just as Jade opened her mouth to question her behaviour, her face contorted into a mixture of confusion and anger - if Cat was trying to play games, now wasn't the time. But, before Jade could speak, a small, clear packet of brightly coloured items slid out from under Cats hoodie, landing at her feet, followed by a high pitched meep from Cat, her cheeks becoming a deep red with embarrassment.

"Is that...candy?" Jade questioned, raising both eyebrows as she crouched over the object, observing it intently, her disbelief clear though she was struggling to stifle her laughter.

"Robbie told you, didn't he!" Cat yelped, covering her face with her hands, sending a mini avalanche of single, wrapped glass candies falling out from under her hoodie, scattering around Jade. Jade closed her eyes, her body tensing as the candy launched left, right and centre, bouncing on her head and sliding to the foot of the doors.

"No..." Jade began, standing up and shaking the candy from her lap, staring at Cat, her face full of amusement. "Wait...Robbie?" _Nevermind..._Jade thought, wondering how Robbie was familiar with the contents of Cat's bra. "It wasn't Robbie, I kinda' guessed, you know, from the sugar shack that just erupted inside this" Jade smirked, tugging at the bottom of Cat's hoodie.

"It's actually in my bra" Cat informed her, as if telling her a very well known fact, bringing her head out of her hands, shrugging her shoulders with a chuckle. Jade shook her head, laughing herself, now. "I know, Cat, but-" Jade began, using the toe of her gym shoe to kick the candy away to the sides of the hall.

"So, you did know! It was Robbie!" Cat squealed, her voice tinged with sadness and desperation, throwing her hands up in the hair, looking utterly helpless. Jade grabbed her shoulders, holding her gaze. "No, for the last time, it wasn't Robbie. I just guessed, I mean, now I know, you didn't really hide it very well" Jade snickered, speaking of the uneven surface under Cat's hoodie. Cat laughed along, too, exhaling deeply as if to calm herself. "But, you can't play dodgeball with a candy bra, so, you need to go back to the changing room and empty that" Jade told her sternly, stepping back as if to assess her work.

"But, Jade, I-" Cat began to protest, the look of sadness appearing on her face again.

"Cat!" Jade shouted, Cat's attention was instantly won by the fiery female, her eyes wide with a hint of fear. "Go back to the changing room, take that candy out of your bra, if you want to be on my team-" Jade barely had time to finish. "Yes! Yes! Okay, but you have to promise you'll pick me, okay, you promise, Jade?" Cat begged, bouncing with her knees together, her face breaking out in excitement.

"Yes, I promise, now go, okay? Hurry up" Jade told her. She didn't even know if the teams had been chosen yet, or if she would get the chance to pick, but she did know, Cat would bargain with the promise of Jade on her team. Jade stood at the same spot in the hallway, watching Cat skip towards the changing rooms, making sure she had gotten far enough before she ventured inside the gym hall. She waited a while after Cat slipped out of eyesight, taking a deep breath before turning and throwing open the doors to the gym.

The inside was vast, the celling extremely high, the floors so well waxed and polished that Jade could see her own face in them, and it was only then that she realised her head was down, showing how weak she felt as she entered the room. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, her classmates lined up against the wall, her eyes drawn to Beck instantly, who stood beside André and Trina; Trina practically throwing herself all over Beck, which wasn't surprising. From this distance, Jade couldn't tell whether Beck was looking or not, and she hoped he wasn't. Jade forced her head up as she walked towards the back wall, the coach in deep thought as he looked over his register. He turned as he heard the door colliding with it's frame, Jade already halfway across the gymnasium, feeling a lot of eyes fixed on her, just wanting to be able to reach the wall and blend in with everyone else.

"Ah, well that's one down" the coach called, greeting Jade with a scowl as she threw herself against the wall, a great distance between her and everyone else, not even bothering to respond to the coach. He followed her as she arrived against the wood panels, Jade's eyes closed as she stood. "Jade?" he called, everyone in the gym falling silent.

"That's my name" Jade responded bluntly, her eyes remaining closed. The coach sighed, throwing his clipboard under his arm. Beck stared down the line of people, his eyes falling on the girl who was singled out to him, not only because of her position, so far from everyone else.

"Why are you late?" he asked her, walking up and down as he awaited her answer.

"I was busy" Jade spat, bending her knee and bringing her foot up to rest against the wall, too. The coach was too tired and too smart to know that he shouldn't push for any more information. Jade was good at sports, when she actually tried, and he didn't want to start the game with her already in a bad mood. "Okay, fine. Just tell me, you seen Cat? Tori, too? Nobody else has seen 'em" he stopped pacing, tapping his foot impatiently for Jade's reply. She sighed, throwing her head back. "Cat and Vega are on their way over" Jade mumbled, her eyes flickering open. "Can we stop with the 21 Questions and actually start the game we're supposed to be playing?" Jade demanded, keeping her eyes on the coach, barely wanting to be near them, never mind associate with her fellow classmates. The coach raised his own eyebrows at her bluntness, crouching down and sliding the clipboard across the floor to the sides of the room.

"Fine. Since, Miss. West is showing such an adamant urgency to begin the game, she can be our team one captain!" the coach clapped his hands together, nodding in Jade's direction. Jade rolled her eyes, but didn't hesitate, moving across the gymnasium to stand on the right hand side of the coach. "Excellent, thank you for volunteering, Jade" he added. Jade smiled sarcastically, turning her head sharply to face the teacher, her lips forming a scowl almost immediately. "My pleasure" she spoke. "And the game, we're going to be playing today, is..." the coach paused, creating a drum roll against his thighs. "Dodgeball!" the couch announced, a grin plastered against his cleanly shaven face. This received a chorus of cheers and groans from the students, a mixed reaction. A small "Yes!" could be heard from Jade, under her breath she hissed her approval. Jade looked up and across the gym, at the same time Beck did - holding each others gaze, and for a brief moment, it looked like neither of them would look away, each of them trying to read the others facial expressions. Jade looked down before Beck could, composing herself before looking up again, avoiding any eye contact. She could barely look at Beck the same, not after how he'd hurt her, how he hadn't cared enough about her to let her walk away. Sure, Jade knew she could be a gank...but what happened to the Beck who said he'd always love her no matter what? Jade refused to consider this now, shaking those thoughts away as the coach continued.

"We need two more captains, which means we'll have three teams in total" he spoke, his voice loud, clear and echoing across the gym. Jade pursed her lips together, biting her lip lightly. "We're playing six-a-side, we'll alternate teams. 3 points for a win, 1 to each team is awarded for a tie, and zero points when you lose a game. I'll tally up the points, the team with the most points, is the winner. Am I clear?" he asked, in return a chorus of "yes sir!" and a separate group of disapproving mumbles could be heard. "Great" the coach finished, scanning the line of students.

"Eli" the coach addressed a guy from Jade's acting class with Sikowitz, stood a few bodies down from Beck. "You'll captain another team, come on up" he beckoned the boy forwards, sliding to the side and creating a space for him next to Jade. The boy nodded proudly, jogging up to the space designated to him. "And last but not least, we'll have..." the coach mused, hand to his chin as he scoured the line, his eyes lingering on each person.

"Hi!" a high pitched voice could be heard from the doorway, followed by the rapid footsteps, which indicated that whoever this voice belonged to, had broken into a run. The stream of laughter that followed made it evident that Cat had arrived. Jade looked over her shoulder, watching as Cat leaped and bounded across the floor, rushing past Jade with an inaudible, excited hum of words, waving at her enthusiastically. Jade placed two fingers to each of her temples, watching Cat skid to a halt in front of André, Beck and Robbie, almost colliding with Rex who shouted very loudly "Watch it, we ain't on no ice." Jade looked back again to see if Tori was following, and sure enough, there she was, strolling across the floor, nodding at the coach before smiling warmly at Jade. Jade just looked away, anxious about showing any chinks in her armour when Beck was around. "Sorry we're late, Coach" Tori told him, pausing just in front of Jade.

"Don't worry, your friend here, Jade-"

"I'm not her friend" Jade spat, almost instantly.

"...explained everything very kindly to us all" the coach continued, despite Jade's outburst. Jade scoffed as Tori smiled, turning to join her friends who were huddled in the corner of the gym, watching what seemed to have distinguished itself as the stage of the gymnasium - where everything seemed to be taking place. "Wait, Tori" the coach called, looking in her direction. Tori turned back expectantly, her eyes questioning. "Step on up, you're our last captain" the male informed her excitedly, indicating the space between Jade and Eli. Jade didn't know what to make of this just yet, sighing as Tori approached her, picking her spot and turning to face the wall of students, hands buried in the deep pockets of her sweatpants. "Jade, team one, Tori, team two, Eli, team three" the coach assigned them with team numbers, walking behind them and indicating which number belonged to which student. Normally, during these games, Jade and Beck would laugh over how competitive Jade would become, and how much he loved that in her. Now, Jade barely spoke to Beck, still unsure of how she should go about her life without him. "Who wants to pick first?" the voice of the coach cut through Jade's thoughts like a knife.

"Me!" Jade called, before she even realised the words were out of her mouth.

"Jade, alright, you get first pick. Pick a guy" he told her, stepping aside, providing himself with a good position to observe. Jade inhaled and exhaled, forcing herself to look at the students facing her. A nagging voice inside her head told her to pick Beck, was actually demanding that she picked Beck. Jade allowed her eyes to pause on him for a moment, before tearing her gaze away. She pushed her conscience to the back of her mind.

"André" Jade spoke. André looked up at the sound of his name from his position next to Beck. Jade nodded as he looked at her, as if waiting for confirmation that it was him she had picked. Since Beck and Jade broke up, André had no idea where he stood. Despite his underlying feelings for Jade, after talking to Beck about the break up, he still saw Jade as Beck's girl, even though they weren't together any more. Since that night at Tori's house, André had been trying to talk some sense into Beck, give him the confidence he needed to talk to her, listening him to him rant about his feelings - which even André was surprised actually existed - until they had formed some structure of what he should say. And everyday, at the end of school, André would send Beck the exact same text message.

**André: Did you talk to her?**

_Beck: ...No._

André didn't believe that it wasn't hard for him, or that he hadn't tried, but, the way Beck talked about Jade, André knew that Beck's feelings had to over come any doubt he had in his mind. André hadn't spoken to Jade about Beck since the break up, it was obvious she still loved him, too, and André couldn't take the pain of hearing her say that to his face. André smiled at Jade, walking towards her from his position against the wall. Jade shot a look at Beck, who thankfully, was looking at his feet for the moment. Unknown to Jade, Beck felt a pang of sadness hit him hard, as he watched his ex-girlfriend choose his best friend, over him. Well, it _was _only a game of dodgeball, but the reality of it was, that it could happen any time, outside of this gymnasium, with any guy. She could be seeing someone right now for all he knew, and he just didn't have the guts to talk to her about this. _What if she thinks I'm seeing someone else _Beck thought as he studied the ground beneath his feet. He had known Jade long enough, and he knew her well enough to know how hurt she would be if she thought that, and after everything that happened, she probably thought he was capable of being with someone else, which was stupid, he was stupid. Beck silently cursed himself, regretting every move he'd made in the past two months.

"Beck" Beck looked up slowly as he heard Tori's voice speaking his name, flashing a huge smile in his direction. Beck didn't return the smile, he just moved reluctantly across the gym, diverting his eyes back to the ground. Before he did this, though, he noticed how close Jade and André were standing. Beck could proudly say before and Jade had ended things, that he wasn't the jealous type, especially not when it came to his best friend. But, now? He almost felt a seething rage as he passed the two of them, running a hand through his hair as he approached Tori. She could tell exactly why Beck was suffering - it was hard to find a person who couldn't tell. She watched him sadly, though he didn't even look her way, Jade being the only thing he could focus on. Jade, though, could only focus on how wrong she had been. She should have chosen Beck for her team - it was a stupid move, Jade knew how jealous she was with Beck, when he was around any girl, especially Tori. She could barely handle that jealously when she knew Beck was hers, and now...now that he wasn't hers any more, she knew she couldn't even begin to restrain it. Nobody knew how much she wanted Beck back, not Tori, not even Cat. She couldn't explain it to anybody. Back in Tori's house, everything could have been resolved right there and then, when Beck said "I'm sick of fighting" Jade could have told him she was sick of it, too. But, she didn't. She didn't say anything at all.

Eli picked his first team member; one of the guys he was stood with a moment ago, and then the cycle began again, moving back to Jade. "Cat" Jade called, keeping to her promise. Cat jumped high in the air, running towards Cat and André, afraid they Jade would change her mind. Tori picked next, appointing Robbie as the next member of her team, which then signalled the starting point for a heated debate between the Coach, Robbie and Rex about whether Rex was allowed to play, and if so, did he could as a separate member of Tori's team. Eli chose his next team addition while this feud was brewing, picking his girlfriend, a friend of Tori's. Another two cycles of choosing passed, Jade picked another girl and guy, two people who she rarely talked to, and were actually quite intimidated by her, unsure of what to do in her presence, and meekly walked to join her team. At the end of this round, each team captain had five members, including themselves. Jade began the last pick, evaluating her options.

Trina. Sinjin. And Burf.

Jade turned to the coach, who was in the middle of checking that the teams had even numbers so far. "Can't I just play with five-a-side?" Jade asked, completely disgusted by her potential choices. André laughed behind her, causing Beck to watch from the corner of his eye, despite the fact Tori was discussing with him who she should pick for their team. He was angry with himself for being mad at André - after all, how could he be mad that Jade didn't want him on her team? He was the one that said he didn't want her at all...right? But, that wasn't true. He did want her, he wanted her more than anything.

"No, Jade. Pick someone, or I'll pick for you" the coach told her, taping the invisible watch on his wrist. Jade huffed, turning her back on the coach. "Sinjin" Jade spoke through gritted teeth, closing her eyes tightly, feeling completely violated. Sinjin, however, was utterly thrilled, rushing up to Jade's side before the words were even out of her mouth. Jade found it hard to believe he was the best option, but it was true. Burf was weird, maybe not as weird as Sinjin, but still weird, and Jade didn't know him very well, fortunately, therefore he had the possibility to be even weirder than Sinjin. And Jade _definitely_ wasn't having _that _Vega sister on her team. André patted Jade's shoulder in a comforting attempt, Beck's insides burning as he watched. Maybe this was how Jade felt when he was surrounded by all those girls, and he never understood why she felt this way, considering he only had eyes for her. Maybe he just didn't tell her enough...

Tori chose Trina, reluctantly of course, leaving Burf for Eli's team.

"Brilliant. Now, we can finally begin" the coach smiled, moving in front of the three teams, wheeling a huge container of red, rubber, soccer sized balls. Beck wasn't focussing on this though, all he could do was helplessly gaze at Jade, watching her talk to André, trying to assess her movements as if this would somehow tell him whether she missed him or not. And this, well, her, was all he had been able to think about for days, weeks, the past few months, even. "Tori, Jade" the coach looked from Tori's team and then two Jade's, nodding his head at them both. "You guys are up first, Eli, you and your team can take a seat, let's go" the coach clapped his hands a few times, walking through the teams, looking at each of the students, urging them to begin. Tori looked to Jade, reaching out her hand for Jade to shake. Jade studied it, debating whether to extend her own, or to retreat. She mused the thought over in her mind a few times, before reaching out and grasping Tori's hand, shaking it firmly, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. At that moment, Jade noticed Beck still stood beside Tori - the only member of either of their teams who hadn't moved into the centre of the gym. His eyes were fixed on Jade the whole time, his lips quivering as if he wanted to say something, but he either, couldn't find the right words, or couldn't find the courage to tell her. Jade hadn't been this close to him since before they broke up, she hadn't even noticed him looking at her for this long. And it scared her, it made her heart beat dangerously fast, but most of all, it made her want to run into his arms the way she used to. Jade's eyes moved slowly from Tori to Beck, staring at him for a few moments, her face softening, questioning him, silently. Beck opened his mouth, but much to his displeasure, there was no sound.

"Right guys, I want a good, clean game, okay? I expect you all know the rules..." the voice of the coach droned in and out of focus as he placed five balls on the centre line, behind Jade, Beck and Tori. Jade let her eyes wander down to the floor as she backed away, turning to walk towards her team mates, giving him one final, fleeting glance over her shoulder as she crossed the centre line. "Thank you, Jade" the coach commented as Jade finally crossed the line into her teams side of the playing field, tears clouding her eyes as she approached André and Cat. André noticed a large tear roll down Jade's cheek, but he refrained from saying anything. Tori, on the other side of the gym, tugged at Beck's arm forcefully, as if pulling him out of a trance, leading him over to where her team was huddled. "Now that Jade has managed to grace her team with her presence, there should be nobody crossing that line, that goes for all of you, got that? You cross that line and you're disqualified from your team. You are only allowed to hit a player below the shoulders, anything above the shoulders won't count, though it will count as foul play, and again, you will be disqualified from your team. Another thing, say if Cat here.." Cat giggled at the mention of her name, spinning around in circles rapidly, the coach glancing at her disapprovingly. "...throws the ball, and Robbie, that's you, son" Robbie looked up slowly, nodding assuringly at the coach, letting his eyes wander to where Cat had finished twirling and was currently waving at him. He waved uneasily in return. "...Robbie catches that ball, that means Cat here is out" Cat's face fell as she began to walk reluctantly to the sidelines, appearing very much like a lost puppy. "No! No! You're not really out of the game, Cat, it was just an example" André called to her, motioning her back onto the playing field. Cat looked at him, puzzled for a moment, then she squeaked excitedly, rushing over to André and throwing her arms around him in a huge hug. "Yay!" she squealed, swaying from side to side, her arms still wrapped around André's neck, who seemed taken aback by this sudden gesture.

"...Okay..." the coach frowned, turning back to both teams. "When Robbie here, caught that ball that outed Cat, this means that, for example, if Beck was out of the game already, for one reason and one reason only, that reason being if he got hit below the shoulders by a member of the opposing team, he would be allowed back into the game, am I clear?" the coach asked, looking from face to face on each side. Of course, Beck hadn't been paying attention to the rules, not even when his name was mentioned by the coach. He was choosing the right time to take brief glances at Jade, biting his lip anxiously, as the coach took the whistle to his lips. Jade and André seemed close all the time, all of a sudden. Beck didn't know if it was because he was becoming paranoid, or jealous, or because he couldn't stop imagining Jade with other guys. It panicked him, the way he couldn't stand to see her around André.

"Back against the wall, back, back, back, one hand against the wall" the coach ordered them, watching as each team obeyed his orders, except for Beck, who was rooted to the spot. Trina, who had been buzzing around him like an irritating fly, since she had been chosen for their team, despite Beck not even giving her a second glance, dragged Beck away and back to the wall, mumbling something about herself. Beck didn't resist, allowing himself to be dragged back to the wall. Jade watched from afar, observing Trina hovering around Beck, scowling, her stomach knotting with rage, anxiety and upset. If she had chose Beck for her team, then Trina wouldn't have the chance to act like this. Jade crossed her arms in frustration, feeling André standing at the wall, right beside her, their hands almost touching as they each reached back to touch the wall, their fingers finally brushing against each other as they awaited the whistle of the coach. Beck could have sworn they were holding hands, which felt like someone had winded him over and over, multiple punches to his stomach and gut. A tear slipped from Jade's cheek and landed on the space between André, followed by a small sniff from Jade, her hair draping over her face, acting as a protective curtain, containing her emotions.

And then, the coach blew the whistle, the clear shrill sounding out around the gym. Cat jolted with surprise, confused as to what she should do. Sinjin looked to Jade for approval, who nodded, giving him the cue to run towards the centreline, followed by André and the other male Jade had picked. Jade sped forwards too, but stayed behind André and the rest of the guys in front, who managed to grab three of the five balls. The other team, however, were less alert, Tori and Robbie being the only two who surged forwards to attempt to provide their team with a head start, but failing. Trina was too busy absorbed in her nails, and Beck was too, well, absorbed in Jade, to even notice the whistle had sounded, and even if they had noticed, it was unlikely any of them would attempt to retrieve a ball from the centreline. As for Burf, he took on the role of cheerleader, and began to shout and whoop for his team, clapping and chanting from the back of the gym. André threw a ball back to Jade, who caught it with ease, leaving Jade, André and Sinjin all holding the red, rubber objects.

"Beck.." Tori hissed, turning her head in fleeting glances, afraid to take her eyes from the other team for more than a few seconds. Beck reluctantly shook himself from his daze, moving his eyes from Jade to Tori. "Huh?" he asked her, placing a hand to the back of his neck. Tori shook her head at him, sighing exasperatedly. "We need you!" she shouted at him, motioning to the opposition that seemed to be advancing. Beck nodded, barely even hearing what she said. "Come on!" Tori prompted again, causing Beck to move forwards and stand beside Robbie, appearing as if he was slightly interested and involved in the game, which - for an actor, should have been easy, but not today. Not when he couldn't focus at all. Tori nodded in approval, looking past Beck, her eyes falling on Robbie, who stood with a ball in his hands, with prime opportunity to eliminate Cat, who was occupied by a strand of her hair.

"Robbie!" Tori screamed, staring at him in despair. Robbie, who was obviously on edge, looking hurriedly to Tori, his eyes constantly moving as he struggled with an internal debate. "Throw the ball, you can get her out of the game, it's a clear shot!" Tori exclaimed, as if he wasn't aware of this. "I know, I know..." Robbie began, his voice uneasy and strained. "I can't..I can't do it, I can't do that to her!" Robbie yelled, dropping the ball to his feet and running back to the wall, standing beside Trina. His internal battle obviously proved too much for him, as he slid his back down the wall, his head falling into his hands, Rex shouting barrels of abuse and heckling from the sidelines. Trina looked down at Robbie and scoffed, stepping over him and approaching Tori, picking up Robbie's ball in one swift movement, and curving it towards Cat. She didn't see it coming, only froze in her tracks as soon as the ball collided with her upper right thigh, yelping after a few seconds, her reaction delayed. "And that's how it's done" Trina grinned, batting her eyelashes at Beck, who wasn't keeping up with the game at all.

"Cat, you're out, I'm sorry" the coach informed her, blowing his whistle.

"Cat!" Jade exclaimed, turning around sharply, her eyebrows raised, slightly angered that she was now one team mate down, marking Trina on her list of people to serve with a powerful ball to the face as soon as she got the chance, whether that meant she was disqualified or not. "I'm sorry, Jade" Cat mumbled sadly, moping off to the sidelines, her head drooping as she shuffled to the seats. Jade could have sworn she heard a few sniffles. Cat sat down slowly, tucking her legs up to her chest, pulling her hood around her face. Robbie looked up from his own position against the wall, searching the opposite side of the gym for Cat, and when he didn't spot her, diverted his gaze to the sidelines, where he saw her, slumped over and curled up like a small child. Robbie stood up, straightening quickly, and before anyone could stop him, he was racing through his team members, running faster than he'd ever moved before, straight across the centreline. The whistle sounded immediately.

"Robbie, you too, you crossed the centreline, you broke the rules!" the coach yelled, letting his whistle fall back around his neck, resting on the material of his shirt. Robbie ignored the protests of Tori, holding his stance in the middle of the gym, nodding proudly, his hands pressed at fists on his hips. "Thank you" he smiled, fixing his glasses before walking off to the side of the gymnasium, breaking into a run as he approached Cat, sitting down beside her and beginning to coax her out of her stage of sadness. Jade couldn't deny that she found this adorable, but of course said nothing. André smiled beside her, watching the two of them huddled together on the wooden benches that flanked the sides of the hall. Despite Tori's outrage, the game continued. Burf's cheering had diminished after Robbie was outed, but he still couldn't resist an excited outburst every now and then.

As the game proceeded onwards, Jade noticed how little Beck was participating, and how even though he stood there, he seemed completely absent. Jade was instantly concerned, and wanted to call a time out, or even risk herself getting disqualified, just to run over there and see if he was okay. Beck was never one to show his emotions in public, Jade knew that, even though around her he would never hesitate, but she had never seen him like this before, so...broken. But, Jade forced herself on with the game, despite her longing to try and help him, everything else told her he didn't care about her, he didn't want her any more. So, she pushed on, placing all of her anger and sadness into the game. The minutes passed, as the game continued, André managing to out Burf from the game a few moments later, though he still insisted on being a full out cheerleader now. Jade caught one of the balls Tori launched their way, though Cat refused to leave Robbie on the sidelines and join the game again, therefore Eli - the captain of team three, offered to step in. Sinjin managed to eliminate the other remaining female from Tori's team, leaving Tori, Beck, Trina and the other male Tori had chosen. Jade had maintained all of her team, André, Sinjin, the girl she had picked, who's name she thought was Eliza, Eli - Cat's replacement, and the male she had picked, to make up six members. In these proceeding moments, Trina managed to out Sinjin, who made a huge protest before leaving the game. Tori cleared Jade's team of Eli and then Eliza, before Jade finally managed to hit Trina, the shot narrowly missing her face and landing just below her shoulder, within the acceptable range. Jade rejoiced as Trina sourly strutted away from the playing field, muttering something about Jade being a Grunch. André laughed, turning to Jade and wrapping her in an embrace as they celebrated together. Beck suddenly became alert and his face fell - having to clench his fists and bite his tongue to strain himself from saying or doing anything he would later regret, however much his mind told him he wouldn't regret it. The hug lasted for longer than Beck anticipated, though. And it became harder to keep his cool.

The stakes at this stage in the game, left three against three.

The game started up again after Trina's exit, the whistle blowing, signifying what would possibly be a final round. The game continued for a few moments, with little events, until the other male Tori had recruited, sent a powerful ball surging through the air towards Jade. Jade was focused on picking up a ball from the ground, straightening up and looking down at it in her hands. The ball had been issued with a great amount of force, and was progressing rapidly. Beck saw, his eyes wide, though he forced himself to begin a race across the gymnasium, bustling his way through his fellow team mates, desperate and urgent to protect Jade at all costs, though he froze upon reaching the centreline, his muscles stiff with anger. Beck wasn't the only one who saw the ball, André had seen it coming. He was closer to Jade, and as soon as he noticed it, he leaped towards her, gathering her in his arms and launching the two of them to the ground, making sure that he could break their fall. Jade was startled, feeling André's arms around her as they lay together on the floor of the gymnasium, the ball landing close beside them, but completely missing Jade. She relaxed in his arms, their legs tangled up in each others, neither one of them bothering to move from the embrace. Both Jade and André's faces were close to each other, his hand pressed into the small of her back. Beck stood, rigid with anger, his heartbreak tearing him up inside. That shouldn't be André protecting his-...Jade, that should be him making sure she doesn't get hurt, that should be him holding her in his arms. Beck's breathing became heavy and laboured as he backed away from the centreline, his eyes wide and his face full of disappointment, his jealousy bubbling over.

"Alright, alright" the coach called, blowing his whistle repetitively, approaching Jade and André. "Up, up, come on!" he called, motioning for them to stand. Though Jade just stared down at him, confused plastered to her face. "Thank you" she whispered, unable to say much more than that, recoiling her arms from around his neck, bringing herself up and dusting down her clothes. She was shocked by André's sudden act, she knew he was a nice guy and all, but they'd never been that close before, and he'd never looked at her that way. The only person that looked at her in that way, was Beck, though, the way André had stared up into her eyes, didn't even come close to the way Beck used to. Neither did the way he held her, all it did was make her long for Beck's touch again. Jade reached out a hand for André and he grasped it, Jade helping him up from the floor. Once he was up and stable again, he stood beside Jade, leaning over to whisper "you're welcome" in her ear. Jade looked down at her feet, composing herself once more, reading to continue the game.

However, while Jade regained her composure, Beck had just lost about every ounce of it. As soon as the whistle blew, he was as active in this game as he had ever been, something triggering inside him as he raced for a ball that was rolling across the floor, picking it up and rushing to stand just under the centreline on his side. His eyes sought out André, and in his jealous rage, he threw his arm back and hurled a ball straight towards him. As soon as he released his grip on the dodgeball, Beck knew he'd made a mistake. André was his friend, his best friend. This move was selfish, it was stupid, it was violent, it was induced by his jealousy and overall his stupidity. He watched as the ball whirled through the air, set to make contact with André, any second now. Though, much to Beck's surprise, André saw the ball coming and tumbled out of the way, little did he know, leaving Jade right in the firing line, the ball's number one target. Jade saw this one coming, too, and tried to protect herself, because she knew running at this stage, it would be too late. The ball crashed against Jade, sending her flying across the room, frozen in the air before skidding across the floor and into the vacant benches at the back of the gymnasium. The whole gymnasium was silent, except for the clatter that Jade made upon impact with the ball and the benches, letting out a small cry of pain, the last sound that was heard. André looked from Jade to Beck, to Tori, almost confused as to what had just happened. He started to move towards Jade, who was whimpering quietly as the ball rolled away from her, though Tori shot him a warning glance, telling him no, for Beck's sake. Robbie had his arm slung around Cat's shoulders, holding her to his chest and concealing her eyes. Even the coach was astounded, too shocked to even blow his whistle. Beck stood there, staring at the damage he had inflicted, tears filling his eyes slowly. He never ever wanted to hurt Jade, that was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew he was the main culprit of all the hurt and pain she had. Jade lifted her head carefully, and gradually, her tearful eyes seeking Beck out across the room. They stared at each other for a few moments, before Jade hauled herself up from the ground, ignoring any sign of pain. She ran out of the gymnasium, pain haunting her body, tears dripping down her face, staining her cheeks. Every pair of eyes in the room were fixed on her, everybody unsure of what to do. And as soon as she left, every pair of eyes turned to Beck, each full of interrogation and shock. Beck barely acknowledged them, his eyes following Jade as she left, before he started into a run after her, weaving through the dodgeballs scattered on the floor and out through the gymnasium doors, the silence inside there absolutely deafening.

"Jade!" Beck called, looking frantically around the space outside the gymnasium doors, his heartbeat practically bruising his ribcage as his eyes darted around, searching for his injured ex-girlfriend. "Jade!" he called again, desperately, his eyes wide and full of worry, his feel constantly moving, afraid to stay in one spot. "Ja-" he began loudly, turning the corner, his eyes falling on her as she walked slowly but urgently down the long hallway that led to the changing rooms, her whimpering more evident now, and echoing around them. Beck felt a stab to his heart as it dawned on him, he caused this, and not only did he cause this, he couldn't make it better. "..de" he spoke softly, realising she was there, his chest rising as he stood at the end of the hallway, his arms shaking as he furiously wiped away his tears. "Jade, please" he begged, walking slowly towards her, his steps slow and tentative, his heart aching with every inch of distance he closed.

Jade froze before turning around, her eyes full of hurt, falling on him like a ton of bricks, pain etched into her beautiful, porcelain features, her own arms clasped around her body. "What, Beck!" she shouted, her eyes falling a victim of fresh tears. "What do you want, Beck?" she yelled, her eyes full of sadness. She wasn't shouting at him the way Jade West usually shouts at people, she was shouting at him, even though her face had softened, partly because of the pain, but mostly because she hated being angry with Beck, she hated it more than anything. But nothing could alter than hurt that flooded her insides. "What do you want?.." she asked again, more softly this time.

"Jade...I-" he began, tears forcing their way from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks slowly, as he stared at her in despair, sighing heavily, his face falling. Beck bit his lip lightly, as he studied her, the sight of her like this, completely shattering. There was so much he wanted to say, he had no idea where to begin, but he knew he needed to make a start, because if he let things go again like this, he knew there would be no way to even attempt to make amends. He took another step forwards as Jade stared at him, tilting her chin down, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Jade.." he added.

"Why did you do it, Beck?" she asked him, throwing her hands up helplessly in the air, a look of pain flickering across her face as she performed this action. Beck was unsure of what she was talking about, whether she meant throwing the dodgeball at her, which was not intended to end the way it had, or why he didn't open the door that night at Tori's house. From the intense look of pain reflected on face, Beck guessed she meant the latter, his own face crumpling as he came to this realization. Just thinking about that night made Beck ache inside. When he tried to think about why he did what he did, all the could encompass was, that he thought Jade would feel the same about the fighting, and maybe if he took a stand, they would be able to sort things out, and better their relationship. The last thing he wanted was to lose her that night, and he did. He couldn't back down after she stormed outside and began her perilous count to ten, he felt like he was always backing down to her, though in reality, she was right. They worked because of the way they were, and Beck missed everything about her, down to the scent she left on the pillows in his RV. It wasn't the same any more, nothing was, he even missed the fighting. "Jade, I-" he began, taking a few rapid steps this time, but stopping when Jade moved away from him, only a step, but still, in that moment, if his heart wasn't already shattered, it definitely was now.

"What, you threw the ball at me to try and hurt me even more, is that what it is, Beck?" she shouted, her fists balling up at her sides. "I'm not in enough pain as it is, no?" she yelled. "I'm not hurting enough for you?" she screamed, her arms falling to her sides limply, her breath catching in her throat. Beck stared, speechless, running a shaky hand through his hair. She stopped, as if catching her breath for a moment. "Well, I'll tell you what, Beck" she continued, her voice softer this time, less violent. "Nothing you, or anyone else, could ever do to me, can make me hurt any more than you did. Nothing!"she shook her head violently, tears scattering in all directions, her body and stance hindered by her pain. Beck gasped as she stepped back, almost faltering, steadying herself at the last minute. She fixed her gaze on him, eyes sincere and genuine. "You hurt me enough!" she told him, turning her back to him, as she turned, her composure falling away, tears littering her face.

"I didn't mean to!" Beck called, each of her words acting like knife to him, the way she screamed and spat her words, every second spent here was tearing them apart. He approached her carefully, his breath heavy. "I didn't mean to hurt you back in there, I wasn't aiming for you...I never wanted to hurt you, can't you see that?" Beck pleaded, finally finding his voice. Jade remained turned away, listening to his words, sniffing quietly as tears rolled down her cheeks. "W..what?" she spoke shakily now, her arms folded, her hands pressing the parts of her back that were in reach and had collided with the benches. "You...you didn't mean to dump me in front of all our friends, Beck? You..you didn't mean to act like the past three years hadn't even happened?" she whispered, feeling his presence closer now, behind her, Jade's head down as she kept her eyes on a spot on the floor, that blurred in and out of focus with her tears. "Because, those years happened, Beck. No matter how much you want to forget about them" Jade sniffed, her stomach swimming in a pool of deep knots.

"Hey, stop" Beck spoke through his own tears, his voice soft and soothing. "I don't want to forget about them, Jade. What, you think they don't mean anything to me?" Beck sighed, placing a hand to the back of his neck. "And even if I wanted to, you think I could? I couldn't even try" Beck sighed, shaking his head in disappointment at himself. "Jade...I can't, I can't have you hating me for some stupid mistakes I made" he told her, his voice sounding out even closer than before, his words reminding Jade of everything that had happened these past few months. Jade shook her head solemnly, forcing herself to move away from him, starting on her walk back to the changing rooms. Beck stared in disbelief. He wasn't going to let her walk away from him twice. "Jade!" he called, skidding round the corner she had just turned. "Jade, stop!" Beck called. Jade carried on walking for a few seconds, her light footsteps the only sound. Though, after a few steps, she stopped.

"I don't hate you, Beck" she whispered, bringing her hands up to her face, her hair still fixed in a high ponytail, meaning she couldn't rely on it to hide her expressions, even though her back was turned to Beck. "I tried" she added, turning around slowly, her face a mix of frustration and sadness. "I tried to hate you, but I just can't" Jade shook her head as if she was disapproving of herself, because she incapable of hating Beck. She caught a tear with the back of her hand. Beck progressed forwards, his face appearing pained. "I'm sorry, Jade" he mumbled, "I'm so, so, sorry" he spoke softly, his gaze fixed on her damp eyes. Jade scoffed through her tears. "You think you're just going to apologise to me and that makes everything okay again, huh?" she asked, disbelief flickering across her face. "Don't you understand!" she exclaimed, tilting her head sideways, everything about her showing how tired of all this she was.

Jade turned on her heals to walk away, one last time. Though this time, Beck reached out and gripped her wrist, pulling her towards him, careful to protect her injuries, despite their location being unknown to him. Jade fell into his chest, Beck wrapping his arms around her, Jade's arms pressed against his chest, her fists balled up as she resisted him, bashing her fists against Beck. "Let me go!" she cried, tears enforcing themselves upon her face, her arms thrashing up and down in an attempt to escape Beck's grasp. "Beck, let me go! Let go of me, now! I'm serious, Beck!" she cried, shaking her arms and legs, adamant on pushing him away. Watching her react this way to him, it made Beck's eyes fill with his own set of tears, silently willing her to stop fighting him. "Please, please.." she begged him, her arms becoming tired, losing her breath as she finally gave in, letting herself fall into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, sobs bursting from her lips as she clung to him, nestling her head into the crook of his neck, buried under his hair. Her hot breath caressed his skin as she tried to calm her tears, Beck releasing a breath he didn't realise he had been holding, enclosing her in his arms, one cradling her head, stroking her hair softly, the other pressed against her lower back, holding her to him.

"Listen to me" he whispered, letting his head fall, his lips resting against her hair. "I was an idiot, I _am _an idiot" Beck explained, his voice slow and clear, the confidence flooding back to him, now that he had Jade in his arms. "I mean it when I say, I couldn't have made a bigger mistake, and I am so sorry, Jade. I'm sorry" he told her, her sobs becoming muffled. "The ball wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at André..." Beck attempted to explain, becoming embarrassed at his actions and how they had taken course. As soon as he said this, Jade's sobs ceased altogether, sniffling profusely as she listened to Beck explain, toying absently with a strand of his hair, her face still hidden. "I got jealous..." Beck confessed, mumbling into her hair as he spoke. "I got jealous of you and him and I threw the ball at him and then it hit you, you know I didn't want to hurt you, right? As soon as you left that night, I knew I'd messed up, Jade. And everyday after that I tried, I tried to talk to you, but nothing I could possibly say would ever even begin to fix this, and don't think I didn't want it because I did, Jade, I wanted you back from the moment you left and I should have told you sooner because I missed you so much, and-" Beck was interrupted as Jade took her head from his shoulder, bringing her lips crushing against his, closing the distance as quickly as possible. She moved her hands from around his neck to the sides of his face, the last of her tears dripping down her cheeks. Beck was slightly taken aback, but it didn't take long for him to lose himself, too, cupping her cheek with his hand as they kissed, showing how much they had missed each other without any words required. Despite having been apart for months, the way they kissed now, it was as if they had never even stopped, both of them slipping back into this mindset so easily, the urgency growing as the kiss was slightly deepened.

Beck pulled away, reluctantly, biting his lip as if attempting to savour the taste. He stared down at Jade, who's eyes were wide with anticipation, still slightly damp with tears, her cheeks a shade of red he had never seen before. He exhaled deeply, tucking a strand of loose hair behind Jade's ear, his fingers dancing across her jawline. She leaned up, pressing her forehead against Beck's, feeling like she could finally breathe, after what seemed like forever. "Please say you love me again?" Beck whispered, wiping the tears carefully from Jade's cheeks with his thumbs, her skin smooth underneath his touch. Jade paused for a moment, Beck's face clouding with worry as he awaited her to say something. Jade finally smiled through her slightly puffy cheeks, closing the distance between them. "Who said I stopped" Jade smirked, running her hands though his hair, her lips colliding with his, kissing him softly, making herself at home in his arms, smiling against his lips. Beck felt his body relax, a sign of his relief. "I missed you so much" Jade mumbled against his kiss, his hands resting on her hips as they locked lips again, the distance closed by the both of them, until there was practically no space left between them, none at all. "I missed you, too" Beck murmured whenever he could stop kissing her for a long enough time frame to interject a syllable, which was a rare occurrence. They remained in the hallway, fixed in that tight embrace, letting their lips graze each others, awaiting the ring of the bell signifying the end of class, but they had time. Towards the end of the class, they had found themselves slumped against the wall, Jade perched on Beck's lap. Beck had examined almost all of her injuries and made sure to kiss every inch of them better, scattering light kisses against the bruises on her back, stomach and limbs, before he got a chance to take her to the nurse in the next period.

And then, they just lay there, neither one of them speaking, just enjoying the others company, the others embrace. Though they were both thinking the same thing; how much they had missed..._this, _each other, everything - and how they both made a silent promise to never let go of it again.


End file.
